This winter semester, there are plenty of opportunities at the University and at venues across Vienna to come together with our Semester Question testimonials and explore the big questions of our time. We have put together a selection of events where our experts will share their perspectives and research.

In September, OpenAI announced that some 10,000 AI agents partially 'solved' the Navier–Stokes problem, one of the most prestigious open challenges in mathematics. University of Vienna mathematicians Nathanaël Berestycki and Vera Fischer agree that the field will never be the same, but argue that maths is far more than producing proofs at speed.

Science begins with a question mark. As the Semester Question series celebrates its tenth anniversary, researchers at the University of Vienna reflect on the big questions they can't let go of and what drives them in the search for answers.

Half of the world's languages are expected to disappear within this century. But when does a language actually count as endangered, and what does it take to keep one alive? Linguist Eva Vetter at the University of Vienna talks about the power of culture, the limits of artificial intelligence, and the spaces in which minoritised languages can go on breathing.

Wherever there is a heated debate, Anna Durnová takes a closer look. The sociologist of the University of Vienna investigates how emotions shape political debates – and why we need to learn to contextualise them to further advance society.

El Niño and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) are key drivers of the global climate and weather. The 2026 El Niño event has been developing since the summer and is set to be the strongest on record. What effects can we expect on temperatures, rainfall and extreme weather, and what does this mean for us in Europe? Meteorologists Susanna Winkelbauer and Michael Mayer explain.